Letter of Inquiry

Wendeanne Ke'aka Stitt | Academy of Hawaiian Arts

How to submit a letter of inquiry

STEP ONE: REGISTER

Days or weeks before beginning your letter of inquiry, complete an eligibility quiz at the Walter & Elise Haas Fund grantseeker portal. If you are eligible to apply, you will receive your username and password via email from [email protected] Be sure to check your spam and junk filters for this email and add the address to your address book to ensure delivery of future notifications.

Confirm identifying information about the collaborating lead artist and nonprofit partners.

Write a letter of inquiry up to 10,500 characters (including spaces) per the guidelines above. Though we call it a letter, in fact it’s a narrative discussion of your project idea. Don’t worry about including an inside address or salutation.

Provide a summary project budget in the form provided.

Upload a two-page maximum, PDF-formatted resume or vita for your lead artist.

You may save your work in the grantseeker portal and return to it.

What to include

A narrative, no longer than 10,500 characters (including spaces), that includes

MProject description including information about how you will collaborate

Description of the organization

Information demonstrating the range and quality of the artist’s work

Description of how the artist’s work relates to this project

Rationale for the collaboration between the artist and organization and a brief explanation of why the project is appropriate now

Discussion of how the work will reach audiences.

A summary budget (submitted via our online form) that includes

Major sources of income

Major categories of expenses

The budget must demonstrate that project partners are planning to spend two-thirds of the funds on artists’ fees and artists’ direct expenses.

Please do not upload manuscripts, music files, or other documentation. Please do not cut and paste illustrations or Web links into the body of your narrative.

The letter of inquiry screening and proposal-award decisions will be based on:

Evidence of the range and quality of the artist’s work

Evidence that the project is an authentic collaboration between the artist and the organization

Evidence that the project stretches organizational thinking and artistic imagination

Demonstrated capability of the organization in its field

Evidence of fiscal responsibility and sound organizational management

Feasibility of the proposed project, based on required materials, timeline, and budget.

STEP THREE: REVIEW AND SUBMIT

When all parties (artist, organization, and fiscal sponsor, if used) have checked their appropriate approval box to show they agree to submit the letter, click Submit.

Letters of inquiry are due by 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Friday, December 1, 2017.

Watch for your confirming e-mail. Save the email for your records. Call 415-402-2793 if it is not received.

Please Note

The grantseeker portal for Creative Work Fund letters of inquiry is hosted by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund.

Mind That Server

Online letters of inquiry are due by by 5 p.m., PST December 1, 2017.

We strongly encourage applicants using our online system to submit earlier than the 5 pm deadline to avoid submission delays or failures due to increased system activity.

You can be confident your submission has been received upon receipt of a confirmation email.Save this email for your records.